The rift between state-owned and independent papers continues to grow Wednesday. While the headlines of independent papers continue to express alarm over the escalating violence in the southern town of Gerga in Sohag Governorate, state-owned publications such as Al-Ahram and Al-Akhbar are more concerned with Friday’s scheduled protest and Mubarak’s latest claims of innocence.
“Gerga in flames” claims the front pages of both Al-Wafd and Al-Dostour. “Clashes continue at the funeral of a third victim, and armed forces have formed a cordon around the town,” Al-Wafd reports, while Al-Dostour’s coverage reveals that “police stations have been raided, and their weapons stores looted.” Residents of Gerga have also reportedly blocked railway lines leading into the town.
The cause of the violence is said to have been a traffic accident that caused no fatalities or serious damage.
Al-Dostour’s report indicates that clashes between the opposing sides will likely continue, as members of one side accuse their rivals of “kidnapping several of their youth, undressing them, violating them sexually and filming the whole affair on their cellphone cameras.”
Al-Ahram’s mention of the conflict is limited to a short paragraph on the bottom of its front page. The only explanation givenfor the violence is “thuggery prevails as citizens raid police stations and steal weapons.”
Besides details of the ongoing violence in Gerga, Wednesday’s papers manage to find consensus in their coverage of the “death” of the stock market, as Al-Dostour describes it (humorously emphasized by a photo of a man who appears to be either weeping, sleeping, or most likely dead, at his computer), although discrepancies continue to a lesser extent in the reported figures. Al-Ahram and independent paper Al-Tahrir both report that the stock market lost a total of LE14.7 billion in one three-hour session – a “violent blow” which Al-Tahrir partially attributes to US financial woes, as well as those of “some European nations.”
Al-Tahrir’s Wednesday issue also comes with an “exclusive” supplement titled “A Conversation between Mubarak and Adly Outside of the Dock.” Over the course of four pages, the supplement provides details of a conversation held in the waiting room adjacent to the courthouse, where Mubarak, his sons and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly allegedly bragged and chuckled about their plans like a gang of second-rate Disney villains.
According to a source, “whose integrity cannot be questioned,” the accused former officials are confident they will emerge from the ongoing public trial unscathed, with Adly reportedly reassuring the former president to “stay calm, we won’t carry this burden alone.” Mubarak then got out of his gurney, walked around for a bit, eventually winding up in the bathroom, the supplement’s unquestionable source claims. The supplement also reports that Alaa Mubarak even expressed his desire to take a group trip to Saudi Arabia for Umra “once this is all over.” Some comfort might be found in the supplement’s report that Mubarak repeatedly vocalized his “disbelief” at the immediate situation, and Adly voiced regret that “their man” hadn’t been placed in charge of the proceedings.
Al-Ahram, on the other hand, features a front-page quote of the president asserting his innocence: “I didn’t flee the country because I have done no wrong.”
Al-Tahrir and Al-Wafd both report on the recent findings by the evidence committee, which has been investigating the weapons and tactics supposedly used to kill protesters during the revolution. The latest findings include ammunition shells and spent cartridges on the roof of the American University’s downtown campus, as well as documents from nearby hospitals detailing the wounds and injuries sustained during the uprising.
Suleiman Gouda’s editorial on Al-Wafd's front page raises the issue of government salaries, especially those of high-ranking officials such as ministers. Gouda commends Finance Minister Hazem al-Beblawy for stating during a press conference Sunday morning that he would announce to the public the exact amount of his salary and would continue to do so on a regular basis by declaring any amount he earns “down to the piaster.” Gouda points out that, while admirable, this situation should be the norm and similar disclosure should be demanded of all ministers and similarly esteemed positions. “I fear Beblawy’s announcement will cause a great deal of discomfort to his fellow ministers, but let that be the case. This brave man has opened the door, and now, it cannot be closed.”
Families of those injured in the revolution have reportedly come to blows while pursuing the compensation payments issued to them by the government. Al-Wafd reports that family members repeatedly complained that the compensation center was “overcrowded and poorly-managed,” resulting in widespread frustration that turned violent. Family members reportedly clashed with officials, while shouting “we are not beggars.” At the end of the day, 444 checks were cashed, each for a sum between LE15,000 and LE5000, depending on the degree of injuries the protester sustained. Unsurprisingly, Al-Ahram’s front page report includes the numbers but skips the violence entirely.
This weekend’s planned protest continues to be the cause of another disagreement, as “56 parties consider postponing Friday’s iftar,” an event which has come to be known as “For the Love of Egypt.” Al-Ahram follows up this headline with its claims that several political parties and movements are now issuing statements calling for the indefinite postponement of the event per Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's request. Not ones to be left out, the Supreme Sufi Council issued a statement of its own, claiming that all 76 Sufi groups in Egypt completely “reject this supposed protest.”
Egypt's papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party
Youm7: Weekly, privately owned
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
